critical metals

The Metal Events‘ 19th International Rare Earths Conference returns to San Antonio, Texas, in 2023.  Registration and welcome reception on 18th October, following on from the Scandium Symposium Register HERE…

The UK’s Critical Minerals Association, in partnership with Metal Events, is holding its first Critical Metals and Materials Conference in London on 22-23 March 2023. MMTA members are entitled to…

Silicon-based semiconductors have dominated the ongoing “semiconductor war” between China and the West. However, in their recent technological tit-for-tat, global attention has been diverted to non-silicon-based or compound semiconductors, especially…

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce its first Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific – where the region’s government, industry and finance will meet to chart a course for the region’s lithium…

Join Benchmark Mineral Intelligence in Washington DC for Battery Gigafactories USA 2024, a live, and in-person conference being held June 11-12 at the JW Marriott Washington DC, USA. Two days…

The passing of the US Inflation Reduction Act puts US automakers under pressure to localise their battery raw material supply in North America or secure  supply from countries such as…

30th Anniversary The Cobalt Congress is the world’s leading event on cobalt, bringing together the entire cobalt value chain, wider critical minerals industry as well as the world’s largest cobalt investors…

Join Project Blue and the Minor Metals Trade Association for a free LME Week networking and information event in the heart of London. Hear from an expert panel of speakers…

The MMTA’s Critical Materials Forum 2024 in association with critical materials consultancy Project Blue will be held at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London on Tuesday 1…

This month Project Blue takes a look at the previous poster child of critical materials: antimony. Antimony, mainly used in flame retardant and lead-acid batteries has lost its position as…

In this submission to the Crucible on the subject of critical materials underpinning energy transition, Project Blue focusses on cobalt.  While there are numerous challenges facing the cobalt supply chain,…

Sticking to outliers in metal choices to kick off the topic of critical materials underpinning energy transition, Project Blue’s second submission to the Crucible is chromium. While most metals, including…

Niobium might seem like a strange choice for Project Blue’s first submission to the Crucible on the subject of critical materials underpinning energy transition. After all, it’s mostly used in…

  What makes vanadium critical? Vanadium ranks 10/40 in Project Blue’s Critical Materials Risk Index (CMRI) 2022.   Concerns over vanadium supply availability are underpinned by its co-product nature.  Vanadium feedstock…

Following the announcement of the proposed  EU Critical Raw Materials Act (see The Crucible, September 2022), the European Commission invited views on the proposed legislation (see The Crucible, October 2022)…

Strengthening Critical Raw Materials Value Chain 10 ways for Europe to regain lost ground Unleash Europe’s Potential: Join the CRM Alliance‘s conference in Brussels to explore strategies for revitalising critical…

CRU Breakfast 2023 is designed to offer a comprehensive understanding of the core and critical commodities, assessing their potential impacts on the global economy, and evaluating their role in the…

The US Department of Defense has awarded two grants worth $200,000 to Perpetua Resources to study the potential for military-grade antimony production from its Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho. If…

E-Waste World / Battery Recycling / Metal Recycling Conference & Expo is the must-attend co-located event for electronics manufacturers and suppliers, ITAD companies, battery producers, recycling companies, critical raw material…

The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act was published today in the Official Journal of the European Commission and comes in to force on 23 May. Read the full text…

After months of deliberations, the European Parliament voted in the second week of December 2023 to adopt the Critical Raw Materials Act. The key aim of this legislation, aside from…

In this section we bring you the latest briefings from our partner association, the CRM Alliance on legislative developments in the European union that impact of critical raw material  industries…

Fastmarkets European Battery Raw Materials Conference gives you a front-row seat to access insights and analysis of the battery raw materials market from the leaders and innovators shaping the industry.…

  In this article for The Crucible, analysts Andrew Matheson and Patrick Stratton of CPM Group home in on Hafnium, that most minor of minor metals. Don’t judge a market…

s, baBenchmark is delighted to announce the return of Giga Europe 2024 – where the region’s government, industry and finance will meet to chart a course for the region’s lithium ion…

CPM Group recently attended both the Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) and Metal Events Rare Earths (MERE) meetings in Singapore. Along with the valuable opportunity to reconnect with people sometimes…

In just a few days, the MMTA is delighted to be welcoming members and delegates in person to the historic UK city of Sheffield for the International Minor Metals Conference…

17-19 April 2024, Singapore   In 2024, the MMTA International Minor Metals Conference moved away from Europe and North America of recent years and headed to Singapore.  Taking the main…

After a very successful first IRTC conference in Lille in 2023, the 2024 IRTC conference focuses on new approaches to criticality to face the challenges of a changing geopolitical configuration and…

Resources: Protect of Promote? Dear Members. Good Morning and a very Happy New Year! This Sunday morning, here in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, I am looking out on only a little…

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution has transformed the outlook for a host of minor metals, none more so than lithium. There are a wide range of opinions and projections as…

On 14th May 2024 the Office of the US Trade Representative announced a plan to introduce or increase duties on a range of Chinese imports as it looks to onshore…

Argus exclusive interview: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves through the global supply of titanium. What are the long-term geopolitical implications for future trade with the region? In an…

The Minor Metals Trade Association is happy to announce that the MMTA’s International Minor Metals Conference 2024 will be held on 17-19th April 2024 at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore.…

The MMTA’s International Minor Metals Conference and AGM 2025 will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 7-9 April 2025. Book before November 15 and pay £950 per person for MMTA…

MDSM is the world’s leading conference & expo focused on the latest technical advancements in motor, drive systems, motion control, magnetic applications, technology, and rare earth materials. This is a…

Economics is a curious discipline, a social science under a veneer of scientific and mathematical rigour. A scientific sheep in wolf’s clothing, perhaps. A synthesis of art and science. That…

Hydrovolt JV begins battery recycling in Norway Hydrovolt, the battery recycling joint-venture between battery maker Northvolt and aluminium group Hydro, has commenced commercial recycling operations in Fredrikstad, southern Norway. Hydrovolt…

  3D printing, lithium power NASA’s Moon mission   As this edition was going to press, NASA launched its CAPSTONE satellite to the Moon. This is the first step of…

To the Moon and back Further to June’s space exploration highlights, August saw NASA readying its Artemis Moon mission for launch.  The Space Launch System rocket pictured here will send…

Forging ahead with titanium   As US seeks to cut its dependence in titanium, critical for aviation and military industries, on imports, particularly from Russia, long overdue investments in domestic…

Go, Go, Gallium After several false starts, NASA’s Artemis I mission took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 16 November, the first in a series of complex missions…

Glencore woos Teck As this issue of the Crucible was heading to print, Swiss commodities giant Glencore sweetened its takeover approach to Canadian miner Teck Resources, which looked determined to…

Dear MMTA Members, Welcome to your February-March edition of the MMTA magazine, the Crucible. After the Lunar New Year holidays in February, that are already feeling like a lifetime ago,…

Aerospace As in April, aircraft deliveries by Boeing in May were more than double those of the same month last year, at 35 planes compared with 17. Deliveries up to…

  In many respects, niobium’s properties resemble those of its chemical cousin tantalum, but nearly always in a way that disappoints. Niobium is chemically resistant to mineral acids, it can…

One of my many bosses (and some reading this will recognize who it is) appeared to enjoy scanning the torrent of uncontrollable contracts with a forensic eye. Occasionally, pipe in…

The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy was launched in July at the ground breaking ceremony for the $195m Pensana’s rare earth refinery at Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull. This will be the UK’s…

On 25 October 2022 MMTA partnered with critical minerals consultancy Project Blue for a series of insights into minor metals critical to energy transition and other strategic sectors, Project Blue Forum.…

Indium and its compounds are widely used in optoelectronics. The most well-known indium-based compounds are indium antimonide (InSb), indium phosphide (InP), indium arsenide (InAs), etc. Among these compounds, InSb is…

The Raw Materials Week is an annual event organised by the European Commission. It gathers a wide range of stakeholders discussing policies and initiatives in the field of raw material, providing…

Securing stable magnesium supply has become a priority for policymakers after an acute shortage of material in late 2021, panellists said at the EIT Raw Materials Summit in Berlin. “To…

If you think trade sanctions, the battle for critical metals and the race to secure a local supply chain is all a modern headache, read on.  A recently discovered time…

The European Space Forum will return to Brussels in 2023, and will once again bring together key stakeholders and thought leaders for 2 full days of face-to-face debate. Focussing on…

 Proposed Modifications to the Section 301 Actions (Docket Number USTR-2024-0007) In June the US Trade Representative consulted on proposed additions to the USTR’s Section 301’s 25% import duties, including HTS…

In Part 1 of this series for The Crucible analysts Andrew Matheson and Patrick Stratton of CPM Group tackle the tension at the heart of Net Zero’s reliance on minor…

The tantalum industry is a very small place, so the news that one of the major tantalum processors, Global Advanced Metals (GAM) is for sale might strike one initially as…

The UK government’s new Critical Minerals Strategy aims to  safeguard the UK’s supply security for critical raw materials. The strategy will be informed by the newly set up Critical Minerals…

    As one who pays superficial attention to the booming battery industry, I’m struck by the frequency with which new technologies are touted that are “set to replace lithium-ion…

MMTA member TuocaiTech has started the new year with a great news that, their 6N+ gallium (Ga) has been officially qualified by a premier gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer producer outside…

Unfolding in April 2024, this dynamic forum is not just an event but a nexus for global professionals and thought leaders. Engage in in-depth discussions on critical minerals, exploring challenges,…

The UK and Canadian governments today unveiled a co-operation agreement on critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium, vital to modern and green technologies, from solar panels to electric vehicles.…

A “Pincer” Movement to Secure Supply Chains? Dear Members   Good Morning! Once again, a Sunday morning here in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The weather’s actually quite decent at the moment:…

What about 2024? Dear Members, With 2024 upon us, I thought I would look quickly at a couple of areas I shall be keeping an eye on in the coming…

By Tamara Alliot, MMTA The Executive Team was kindly invited to MMTA member company Less Common Metals (LCM) just before Christmas. Ian Higgins, the Managing Director welcomed us to their…

Overview: Engage in powerful conversation with Wood Mackenzie’s research analysts and industry thought leaders as they discuss the key drivers and challenges shaping the metals industry. Topics include: Shaking off…